House GOP Uses Must-Pass Defense Bill To Cut Care for Military Families' Trans Kids

However, you could always add something from outside such as fresh air to help. For an example of this you only have to think back of an American football match where someone took out all those defensive players with his/her hands tied behind their back! House Republicans have added a provision to a must-pass defense bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, which could prevent transgender children of military families from receiving necessary health care – forcing parents into an untenable choice between careers in service and providing medically necessary health services to loved ones. It lies buried on page 399. The House will vote later this week. Republicans tacked it onto their legislation at the last moment after working together with Democrats to draft it.It only required one sentence: House Republicans sneaked a provision into the National Defense Authorization Act that would deny health coverage for military families with trans children, according to reports by House Rules Committee members and The Hill. Republicans have long campaigned against trans rights — spending $215 million this election cycle alone on ads attacking trans people — so now they have found an indirect way of connecting those issues to legislation pertaining to national spending for defense, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). On Tuesday, President Donald Trump expressed his approval of the National Defense Authorization Act bill by specifically noting its provision which prohibits TRICARE coverage for gender-affirming health care services for servicemembers’ kids. “TRICARE was banned from prescribing treatments that would lead to sterilizing our kids,” Johnson claimed at a press conference. However, both his claim and that of the bill’s language can be misleading; young children receiving gender affirming care do not face sterilization risks. As Republicans frequently note when discussing trans health care, trans genital surgeries performed without informed consent are generally reserved for adults consulted with by medical professionals beforehand. Trans youth who have yet to reach puberty typically get mental health support as well as guidance for social transitioning from GAC specialists. Once children reach adolescence, they may start using puberty blockers – medications which temporarily delay puberty changes without leading to permanent physical effects; once someone ceases using such drugs, their natural puberty resumes. Older trans children and teenagers may opt to add estrogen or testosterone hormone replacement therapy into their regimen, though long-term consequences for fertility could arise depending on when this therapy was begun. Decisions on these interventions rest with each patient and family as well as doctors; many trans people choose not to pursue hormone treatment or surgery, though. According to Johnson on Tuesday he anticipates an “extensive vote” on NDAA this week. He’s daring Democrats and any Republican to vote against NDAA legislation authorizing defense spending priorities up until Sept 2025 and prohibiting anti-trans provisions. Nearly 300 pro-LGBTQ rights organizations sent letters Monday urging House lawmakers not to support it on this account. “To deny access to medically necessary care to thousands of family members of military service members is both unfaithful to their promises and poses an unnecessary threat to national security,” read the letter signed by groups such as Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal and Physicians for Reproductive Health. “Gender affirming care – often known as gender dysphoria treatment – doesn’t constitute special or experimental health care; instead it is standard medical practice managed by physicians.” “Tuesday saw members of Congress discuss and vote on an initial step to kickoff debate on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This rule narrowly passed with every Republican present voting against it while every Democrat opposed it.” Thirteen people failed to cast votes during this vote and shortly afterwards Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, encouraged all Democrats present and voting later this week against any bill in its current form. “Nothing could be more hypocritical of a party who criticizes big government than hijacking the National Defense Authorization Act to overrule servicemembers’ decisions made with medical experts and their children regarding which form of transgender care would best meet their needs,” Pocan wrote in her statement. Democrats appear poised to stand firm. Washington Rep. Adam Smith, who helped craft the bill before Republicans added anti-trans riders, announced today he now opposes it. “This harmful provision puts children’s lives in jeopardy and may force thousands of service members to choose whether or not to remain military members so their children receive healthcare they need,” stated Smith in a statement. “For that reason, I will oppose final passage of the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act as currently written. At Tuesday’s House floor debates some Democrats took advantage of an anti-transgender provision to criticise. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania noted the US military is already facing difficulty recruiting and retaining personnel; further restricting people’s children access to health care will only compound its challenges. “The evidence speaks for itself: Gender-affirming care of various kinds is life-altering and lifesaving for children who require it,” Scanlon asserted. Our soldiers need to focus on their missions without worrying whether their children can get access to medical treatments they require for health issues that affect them personally. But Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia defended the anti-trans provision and claimed Democrats upset about it are just looking for reasons to oppose NDAA. According to him, blocking trans kids’ health care should be obvious.” “We are talking about children under 18, and saying no one will allow a surgical procedure that could result in sterilization,” stated Georgia Republican David Perdue. He then continued, asking why such discussions even existed at all before handing it back over to Louisiana Republican Speaker Mike Johnson who then gave this address in front of both houses of congress. Scott says he is “proud” of the GOP National Defense Authorization Act’s provision to deny transgender children living within military families health coverage. Andre Harnik/Getty ImagesIt appears that Scott may lack knowledge regarding transgender health. Harvard School of Public Health researchers’ July 2024 study shows what many trans teens may not realize: almost no trans teens get gender-affirming or genital surgery at any age; specifically this research found no instances in youth under 15; among teens aged 15-17 years of age and adults 18 or over respectively this rate stood at 2.1/100000 people and 5.3 per 100000 respectively. As most of these surgeries were chest surgeries and did not involve “sterilizing” patients, their impact is unknown. Furthermore, no figures are available regarding how many transgender kids enroll or rely on coverage for gender affirming services under TRICARE. One analysis in 2022 reported that approximately 2,500 minors sought care for gender dysphoria through TRICARE in 2017, of whom 900 received puberty blockers or hormone treatments to address it. Scott may not realize or care that under the National Defense Authorization Act provision all gender affirming treatments may still be covered for children younger than 18.This could include breast reduction surgery for male cisgender children suffering from gynecomastia – an uncommon but noncancerous condition which results in excess breast tissue growth – caused by genetic inheritance. Hormone treatments could also benefit cisgender women living with polycystic ovary syndrome, which produces higher testosterone levels and extra hair growth. Don’t Let This HappenTo DemocracyDon’t let this be the end of free press journalism! America is facing an unprecedented threat to free press — and our collective future hangs in the balance. While other newsrooms cave to political pressure and back down from publishing free content for all readers, HuffPost remains firm on keeping its news free for all. Would you be willing to assist us in keeping it that way? Without your assistance we simply wouldn’t survive as an independent news source! Can’t afford a donation yet? Donate anyway — our volunteers offer their service without charge as always! Support HuffPost by creating a free account and signing in as you read. Your help in the past was vital; now more than ever we need it. At HuffPost, our mission of providing free and fair news coverage is of vital importance in today’s uncertain world, and without you we couldn’t do it! Whether or not it is once-off donation, every contribution counts toward keeping our journalism free for all. You have supported HuffPost before; let’s be honest — we could use some assistance again from all our readers. As we navigate this critical moment in history, HuffPost sees its mission of providing free news critically important and we rely on donations like yours to achieve it. From one-time contributions or regular pledges – every bit helps ensure our journalism remains openly available for everyone! Please support HuffPost. Already given? Thank you & stay up to date. Log in now to disable these messages! There’s still the slim possibility that Democrats might convince Republican leaders to remove anti-trans provisions from the bill; given House GOP’s slim majority, Democrats might find enough votes among its ranks who’ll support opposing it altogether. Some fiscally conservative GOP members might take issue with the bill’s high price tag and may opt to oppose it on that ground alone. Furthermore, House math could become complicated; of the 13 lawmakers missing Tuesday’s very close vote for NDAA legislation only four were Democrats while nine were Republicans (four being absent due to illness; nine of those weren’t present during voting day either way); it could happen that more Democrats will return and some GOP members might opt not to return while some will simply skip voting altogether). It seems likely that House will finally vote on Wednesday or Thursday on final consideration of this NDAA bill!